Seismic expansion joint covers for buildings in geographic regions that are prone to earthquakes are of special designs that allow for movements of the building units on either side of the expansion gap that are very much greater than the movements that occur as a result of thermal expansion and contraction. In that regard, buildings currently being built in earthquake-prone regions are usually supported on isolators that attenuate the intensities of shocks imparted to the building structure but increase the durations and magnitudes of the swaying motions of the structure as the structure displaces and deforms when forces due to the earthquake are imposed on its foundation supports. When a building is composed of two or more adjacent independent structural units, each structural unit is subject to movements in an earthquake that are different in direction, frequency and magnitude. That is the case, indeed, regardless of whether the units are mounted on isolators or not.
Adjacent structural units of a building are, in particular, subject to large relative movements having components horizontally toward and away from each other (perpendicular to the center plane of the gap)xe2x80x94x-axis movementsxe2x80x94and components horizontally parallel to the center plane of the gapxe2x80x94y-axis movements. Because the connections between structural units at expansion jointsxe2x80x94which might better be termed xe2x80x9cmotion-absorbing gapsxe2x80x9d and will be so referred to hereinafterxe2x80x94occur at the perimeters of the structural units, the movements include small but meaningful relative displacements vertically and angularly between portions on opposite sides of gaps due to the rocking of the floors at the perimeter of the structural unit about a fulcrum in the region of the bottom center of the structural unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,879 (Shreiner et al., Jul. 8, 1997), which is owned by the assignee of the present invention and is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, describes and shows a seismic motion-absorbing gap cover assembly that is adapted to span a gap between the floors of building sections on opposite sides of a motion-absorbing gap and that permits relative movements of the floors substantially horizontally toward and away from each other along an axis perpendicular to the gap (xe2x80x9cx-axis directionxe2x80x9d) and substantially horizontally relative to each other along an axis parallel to the gap (xe2x80x9cy-axis directionxe2x80x9d). The assembly includes a rectangular structural floor bridge panel that spans the gap in all relative positions of the floors. One end of the bridge panel is attached to the floor on one side of the gap (xe2x80x9cfloor Axe2x80x9d) for movement in the y-axis direction and against movement in the x-axis direction relative to floor A. The other end of the bridge panel is supported on the floor of the other building section (xe2x80x9cfloor Bxe2x80x9d) for movement in the x-axis direction and against movement in the y-axis direction relative to floor B.
Although the motion-absorbing gap covers disclosed in the aforementioned patent and various other previously known motion-absorbing gap covers meet the requirements imposed on them reasonably well, there is a need for a roof motion-absorbing gap cover that is relatively simple in construction and function, light in weight so that forces produced by inertia during by movements in an earthquake are kept relatively low, inexpensive to produce and install, capable of accommodating not only x-axis and y-axis movements but relative displacements vertically and angularly between portions on opposite sides of gaps due to the rocking of the building units, and versatile as far as utility in various environments is concerned.
The foregoing needs and objectives are met, in accordance with the present invention, by a seismic roof motion-absorbing gap cover assembly that includes an elongated y-axis slideway affixed to a building unit B on one side of a motion-absorbing gap and extending along a y-axis longitudinally parallel to a center plane of the motion-absorbing gap and a y-axis slider received on the y-axis slideway for sliding movement. A plurality of roof support members are secured to the y-axis slider in spaced apart relation against horizontal movements relative to the y-axis slider. A roof having one end affixed to a building unit A on the other side of the motion-absorbing gap spans the motion-absorbing gap and is supported on the roof support members by a plurality of elongated spaced-apart x-axis slide members for movement relative to the roof support members along an x-axis perpendicular to the center plane of the motion-absorbing gap. Each x-axis slide member has a length such that it is supported by the roof support member throughout a range of displacements in the x-axis direction of the building units between maximum and minimum design displacements in an earthquake from a neutral position.
In a seismic roof motion-absorbing gap cover assembly according to the present invention as described generally above, the roof is secured to the building unit A on one side of the motion-absorbing gap. Thus, the roof can be well sealed to building unit A against water intrusion. Most motions of building unit B relative to building unit A in an earthquake are afforded by supporting the B-end of the roof on the y-axis slideway/slider and the plurality of roof support members carried by the y-axis slider and the x-axis slide member associated with each roof support member. In particular, motions of building unit B relative to building unit in the y-axis direction are accommodated by sliding of the y-axis slide axially relative to the y-axis slideway that is affixed to building unit B. Motions of building unit B relative to building unit A in the x-axis direction are afforded by sliding of the x-axis slide members relative to the roof support members. Both x-axis and y-axis relative motions of units A and B may, of course, take place simultaneouslyxe2x80x94as mentioned above, the magnitudes, directions and frequencies of the motions of the building units in an earthquake usually differ, so x-axis and y-axis motions are virtually always superimposed.
In preferred embodiments, each x-axis slide member is of uniform cross-section along its length and includes a socket portion receiving the roof support member in captured relation and a cover portion along the top and sides of the socket portion. The cover portion shields the socket portion from intrusion of most water and dust, which improves the reliability and maintenance-free life of the assembly.
Each roof support member may have arcuate surfaces that permit the x-axis slide member that it supports to rotate about the x-axis and about a center y-axis of the roof support member perpendicular to a plane parallel to the x-axis and y-axis. Rotation about the x-axis accommodates tilting of the units A and B relative to each other, such tilting accompanying relative displacement in the y-axis direction such that floor and roof planes of the units are slightly out of parallel. Rotation about the y-axis allows for relative motions of the units A and B horizontally that results in skewing of a vertical wall of one unit relative to a vertical wall of the other unit so that they become slightly non-parallel. The above-described arcuate surfaces are conveniently obtained from a manufacturing point of view by providing each roof support member with a substantially spherical head portion.
Each roof support member is, preferably, mounted on the y-axis slider for upward displacement from and for tilting in all directions relative to a supporting surface of the y-axis slider. Upward displacement and tilting of each roof support member allows for vertical movements of the B end of the roof relative to the A end that accompany the relative motions of units A and B described in the immediately preceding paragraph hereof. In particular, one side of the B-end of the roof will lift up relative to the other side, and arranging the roof support members to lift up allows that to occur. It is desirable to resiliently bias each roof support member against the upward displacement and tilting so that it will reseat after an earthquake ceases. It is also desirable that the resilient downward bias of the roof support members collectively provide a total downward force on the B-end of the roof to keep it from being lifted by forces due to wind.
It is preferred that the features described in the two immediately preceding paragraphs be used together to afford motions of the B end of the roof relative to the A end that result when the wall and/or floor planes of the portions of building units A and B adjacent the motion-absorbing gap become skewed relative to each other in an earthquake.
In a suitable design, the y-axis slideway includes a base member of uniform cross section along its length having an upstanding leg portion, and a continuous bearing member of a durable, rigid, low-friction polymeric material received on the base member. The y-axis slider may have a supporting base portion on which the roof support members are mounted and a socket portion depending from the base portion and receiving the bearing member in captured relation. The bearing member and the socket portion of the y-axis slider should be arcuate in cross section so that the y-axis slider can rotate relative to the bearing member about the longitudinal center axis of the bearing member. In that regard, x-axis motions of building units A and B in an earthquake produce small vertical displacements of portions of floors and roofs adjacent the motion-absorbing gap, which in turn causes the edge of the roof of one building unit to be higher than the edge of the roof of the other building unit. Tilting of the roof gap cover about the axis of the y-axis slideway accommodates the small vertical displacements of the edges of the roofs of the building units adjacent to motion-absorbing gap.
1. In preferred embodiments, the roof includes a skeletal framework (which includes the x-axis slide members) and a weather cover supported by the framework. The weather cover has, of course, a width in the x-axis direction greater than the width in the x-axis direction of the motion-absorbing gap so that the weather cover overlies the motion-absorbing gap but less that the width in the x-axis direction of the framework. It is desirable to leave part of the frame without a weather cover in order to minimize wind loads on the part of the installation that extends over the roof of building unit B.
In order to accommodate vertical movements of building unit B relative to building unit A, the roof should be affixed to building unit A for tilting about a tilt axis parallel to the center plane of the motion-absorbing gap.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the following description of an exemplary embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.